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Old 04-24-2009, 10:46 AM
 
9,196 posts, read 24,856,109 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMMP View Post
Wow. Looking at these gas bills is making me determined more than ever to not buy a house with gas heat.
Is there a less expensive alternative?
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Old 04-24-2009, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Cary
387 posts, read 1,025,403 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHTransplant View Post
Is there a less expensive alternative?
Electric heat. I have heard that most houses built in the mid 70s to 80s have electric heat because of the engery crisis of that time. I'm not familiar with how common electric heat is in newer houses. (I'm thinking not very?) It is hard to know if electric is cheaper nationally but it seems like it might be a little cheaper around here, at least recently.

Happily, this article sugggests that heating bills for houses using natural gas will decrease substantially next winter ('09-'10).
http://www.usnews.com/articles/scien...-save-big.html

Last edited by Nelson919; 04-24-2009 at 10:57 AM..
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Old 04-24-2009, 10:54 AM
 
Location: Oxxford Hunt, Cary NC
4,477 posts, read 11,581,892 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMMP View Post
Wow. Looking at these gas bills is making me determined more than ever to not buy a house with gas heat. Right now someone is home 24/7. I lived in FL for the past 12 years and anything less than 73 degrees in the house is super cold to me. I personally like it at 78 all year round. I see these bills for a 62/65 setup and know that extra 10 degrees 24/7 will add a nice chunk to a gas bill. I only used the gas logs for a few hours per day in the evenings (which I know uses a larger amount than a furnace) and the gas bill shot up to $178 in January just so we could all be comfortable.
Well, be sure to get a house that is well insulated with good windows.. with my current non-energy efficient setup my bill would be high no matter what fuel I used. I always found gas to be pretty economical - a heat pump would be the least costly, but I personally don't like them.
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Old 04-24-2009, 10:57 AM
 
Location: Oxxford Hunt, Cary NC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson919 View Post
Electric heat. I have heard that most houses built in the mid 70s to 80s have electric heat because of the engery crisis of that time. I'm not familiar with how common electric heat is in newer houses. (I'm thinking not very?)
I've never lived in a house that had straight up electric heat. My two houses back in Virginia had gas furnaces and they were built in the 70's. I had a heat pump in a condo that was built in the 40's but renovated much later. I'd think that most modern houses with "electric heat" would have heat pumps.

My parents live in a house with oil heat - now THAT's expensive!
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Old 04-24-2009, 11:08 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson919 View Post
Electric heat.
Actually I don't think electric heat is the cheapest form of heat. It's good when it's 40F-50F outside but much lower than that and it runs pretty much 24/7. When it dips into the 30's and below it's on 24/7 and the output temp never goes above 65F or so without the heat strips ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$).

Your best bet for heating IMO is to have some sort of pellet or wood stove with a blower on it.

Something like this:




I kept my house coooold at 66F and my electric bill still got to $160 in the peak month. It was my first winter here though I wasn't sure what to expect.
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Old 04-24-2009, 01:34 PM
 
Location: SW Durham, NC
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We got on the monthly plan for both gas and elelctric, which you can do once you've been in a property for a year. Having the same payment each month doesn't create any surprises when the bill comes. We consistently end up getting at least one month (sometime month and a half) for free as things work out for the high months vs. the low months.

We also have vinyl replacement windows, close the outdoor vents in the winter, put insulation in all wall outlets that are on outer walls, and sealed up any openings where air might get in/escape. We also want to add heat control window film on the windows that get the most sun on them.
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Old 04-24-2009, 03:02 PM
 
Location: Durham, NC
1,094 posts, read 2,458,506 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hula View Post
We also want to add heat control window film on the windows that get the most sun on them.
What is heat control window film and where would you get it?
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Old 04-25-2009, 08:57 AM
 
9,196 posts, read 24,856,109 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by senalj View Post
What is heat control window film and where would you get it?
You can find products like this at Lowes and Home Depot:

Gila Film Products : Innovation. Protection. Style.

There are professionally installed products as well.

They help reduce the amount of heat gain from intense sunlight through your windows.
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Old 04-28-2009, 09:48 AM
 
835 posts, read 2,870,100 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHTransplant View Post
You can find products like this at Lowes and Home Depot:

Gila Film Products : Innovation. Protection. Style.

There are professionally installed products as well.

They help reduce the amount of heat gain from intense sunlight through your windows.
Thanks for posting this...we could use it. I see the most effective for blocking heat and UV rays are either the Platinum or Titanium.
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